Wood and other material processing apparatuses and methods have been used for many years. In the instance of wood processing, methods and apparatuses including my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,444,234, 4,569,380, 4,697,626, 4,776,375, 4,785,860, 4,874,024, (incorporated herein by reference) have been used for great benefit in both debarking, cutting, and "hogging" various wood elements, ranging from rock-laden wood processing "hogs" to specialized "knives" used to provide particular wood shavings.
Although such methods and apparatuses have been generally suitable for the tasks with which they are assigned, a new need in the industry has arisen for a suitable means for handling wood "lilypads", which in certain instances can be provided in large quantities, such as in the case of large wood processing facilities.
Due to the scarcity and cost of timber, wood processing facilities ("mills") have reduced waste by cutting logs more accurately. This is reflected in the creation of much shorter "trim-ends" than were previously cut. These trim-ends are approximately 3 inches and shorter, and have been come to be known as "lilypads".
These lilypads are created when the ends of logs are trimmed to provide an end cut which is substantially "square". These "lilypads" get their names from their appearances, which are substantially flat and disclike, and include lengths being substantially shorter than their diameters.
Prior art apparatuses have not been able to suitably process such wood elements, and tend to "shatter" them due to misalignment of the wood grain relative to the cutting edge as discussed in further detail below. Therefore the mills have instead used the lilypads for fuel by burning. However, there is a surplus of such matter, and burning has been found to pollute the atmosphere. Many scientists claim such burning has reached a critical level and certain governments have correspondingly placed restrictions or controls on such burning.
Therefore there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for handling bulk quantities of lilypads, which will process the lilypad members in an efficient yet effective manner, providing wood chips having desirable characteristics for pulp and paper chip use. Methods and apparatuses are always needed which produce a high quality wood chip, with lower power requirements, which convert waste product to a high dollar item which is recyclable and non-polluting.